Overview
3D BRD Viewer is a free tool to visualize CadSoft EAGLE PCB Designs in 3D. You can drag your .brd file anywhere on this page and have a full 360 degree view of how your board will appear after assembly.
Models
The tool currently has close to two hundred 3D models of different components. We’ve tried to include the most used packages, but we can’t account for every device out there, and probably your board won’t render completely the first time you load it. “Not found” models are red-ish colored (right hand side list), once you select an element click “Manage Model” and try to find your element model in the list of available models. If you can’t there are two other options:
1. Define a box – find the datasheet for your device and get the dimensions from there.
2. Upload a file – stp and dae formats are currently supported. Most connector manufacturers provide a step file for their products.
After you click “Place” the tool will add that model to the scene for all elements with the same package. Then if there are alignment issues you can move each element individually from it’s dropdown menu. The changes you make are saved in your browser local storage based on the filename of the board, so that next time you load it it will have the same translations/offsets/models/boxes.
Browser Support
We’ve implemented the viewer using WebGL so browser support isn’t great. It’s stable under the latest versions of Firefox, Chrome and Opera, you can try other (IE) browsers at your own risk.
EAGLE Support
We’ve only tested the tool with EAGLE 7.1 and 7.2, but in theory it should be able to render a board made with version 6 since thats when they introduced the xml file structure. Let us know if you experience any issues.
Known problems
- After a file import the changes made to the board are forgotten.
- Circular-shaped boards most often do not render correctly.
- Curved dimension (layer 20) with an angle larger than 180 degrees render incorrectly.
- Currently the rotation controls of an object are not ideal. It is possible to achieve any rotation, but it takes some trial and error.
- Text, traces and other stuff outside the board dimension area produce incorrect texture renderings. Board size and component placement are correct but the image on top and bottom of the board showing the traces, resist and silk are compressed to fit the board outline.
Donations help us put more time towards fixing these problems.
For More Details: 3D BRD Viewer
